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Welfare Reform (1990's)

Glazer, S. (2001, August 3). Welfare reform. CQ Researcher, 11, 601-632. Retrieved November 13, 2008, from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2001080300.

Notes:
  1. Reform Law was passed in 1996 DH
  2. The law ended cash benefits DH
  3. No one can receive a welfare check for more than 5 years in a lifetime DH
  4. They can only receive it if the state approves the hardship DH
  5. Law also allowed states to change the deadline. DH
  6. Some states changed the deadline. DH
  7. Law required recipients to be a part of a job or activity leading to a job to receive welfare checks. DH
  8. Welfare recipients have dropped more than half of their 14.2 million recipients since 1994 DH
  9. Since 1994 more poor single mothers have been working than ever before DH
  10. Child poverty is at it's lowest rate ever DH
  11. Recipients who left during 1996 and '97 have had lower household incomes DH
  12. 40 percent of people that left welfare are not working DH
  13. The federal government gave the states 16.5 billion dollars for welfare to last over 6 years. DH
  14. The block of money must be renewed again. DH
  15. The original aim of welfare in 1930's was to enable single mothers to stay home and care for child. DH
  16. In 1970's the single mother populations grew by a lot DH
  17. The biggest issue to be solved is how much money to put into TANF DH
  18. 1999 there was 7.4 billion dollars unspent DH
  19. Democrats want definition of "Work" to be broadened DH
  20. Republicans want "work" to only be work DH
  21. Democrats want welfare recipients to be able to get good paying jobs DH
  22. TANF- Temporary Aid for Needy Family DH
  23. Welfare promotes marriages DH
  24. Congress is funding TANF and it helps parents without parenting skills DH
  25. Many parents grew up in broken households DH
  26. Welfare publisizes importance of healthy marriages DH
  27. Atleast welfare is trying to help marriages DH
  28. 1 parent and 2 kids get low of $120 per month DH
  29. " " get high of $923 per month DH
  30. Welfare improves the working poor. DH

Counter Arguments (LK) & More Facts

Rector, Robert. "Understanding Poverty in America." 2004. 13 November 2008 <http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/bg1713.cfm>.

  1. 37 million Americans were considered poor in 2005. That’s a lot of money to be given away LK
  2. The government claims 37 million were poor but their standards of poor are much different then the almost universal idea, which is the inability to provide food clothing and shelter LK
  3. many people abuse the use of welfare by having more kids so that they can get more money from the goverment. LK
  4. About 1/3 of 4 households, have overcrowding CA
  5. Temp. homeowners are in difficulty getting medical care CA
  6. Most of the poor people in America are generally well nourished LK
  7. Virtually none (about 2%) of poor families say they don’t eat often LK
  8. Most people receiving welfare from the government have the necessities of food clothing and a house. And then some (a car, refrigerator, television, DVD player, cable TV, stereo) LK
  9. The government portrays poverty as such an awful thing and it’s really not as bad as it may seem since these people almost never go hungry long term. LK
  10. 30% household, didn’t meet essential expenses CA
  11. Most of the poor people in America are generally well nourished LK
  12. Virtually none (about 2%) of poor families say they don’t eat often LK
  13. Most people receiving welfare from the government have the necessities of food clothing and a house. And then some (a car, refrigerator, television, DVD player, cable TV, stereo) LK
  14. The government portrays poverty as such an awful thing and it’s really not as bad as it may seem since these people almost never go hungry long term. LK
  15. These conditions are far superior to what people think poverty really is. LK
  16. 54% live in single family homes LK
  17. The average poor house hold is better in almost everyway then the European’s house hold LK
  18. There is little to no evidence of malnutrition in America. LK
  19. Fewer then 200 receive hunger form lack of food LK
PublicWelfareFoundation. OurWork. 13 November2008.http://www.publicwelfare.org/OurWork/
  1. fundamental rights/ opportunities for people in need CA
  2. makes a difference in peoples lives CA
  3. Gives Criminal and Juvenile justice, health reform, and workers rights CA

Welfare Branches

Allard, Scott W. "Welfare." World Book Advanced. 2008. [Place of access.] 13 Nov. 2008 <http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar597520>.

  1. Welfare has many branches DH
  2. One branch is Medicaid DH
  3. Medicaid helps pay for medical care for poor people DH
  4. Another branch is The Earned Income Tax Credit.(EITC) DH
  5. This helps refund poor people's taxes. DH
  6. Tax refund depends on size of family DH
  7. To receive assistance of welfare the recipient must work atleast 30 hours per week DH
  8. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) DH
  9. Helps needy families buy more or better food than they could normally afford. DH
  10. Participating households get a plastic card that can be loaded with value. DH
  11. Value varies depending on the household’s size, income, and expenses DH
  12. Cooperating grocery stores accept the card for food purchases only DH
  13. Funds are then electronically transferred to the stores from special accounts for each family DH
  14. Before the cards the paricipants received food stamps. DH
  15. Other assistance programs include public housing and energy assistance DH
  16. Public housing program helps recipiants live in government owned buildings DH
  17. If they don't live in a government owned building than they help pay for rent DH
  18. Energy Assistance Program helps pay for heating and cooling bills. DH
  19. Another program is Work Supports DH
  20. Work Supports helps participants keep hold of their job. DH


Requirements

N, Madison . Who is eligible for welfare in the United States?. 2003-2008 Wise Geek. 11/13/08 <http://www.wisegeek.com/who-is-eligible-for-welfare-in-the-united-states.htm>.

  1. help people with little-no income CA
  2. priority with familys, elderly, disables CA
  3. Includes cash assistance, food stamps, medicaid CA
  4. must apply, show proof of financial need to have welfare CA
  5. must be citizen CA
  6. Exempted from work if: baby under 12 months, disabled (permanently), & attending college CA


Outcomes

Rector , Robert. The Good news about Welfare Reform. September 5, 2001 The Heritage Foundation. 11/13/08 <http://www.heritage.org/research/welfare/bg1468.cfm>.

  1. August 1996: Clinton made new program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Familys CA
  2. Had 3 goals: "reduce welfare dependence and increase employment rate, reduce child poverty and reduce illegitimacy and strengthen marraige. CA
  3. liberal groups thought it would increase poverty, hunger and illnesses but effective in every goal CA
  4. 4.2 million fewer living in poverty then from 1996 as of 2001 CA
  5. poverty rate for black children is at lowest in U.S. history CA
  6. Over all poverty rate: 1996- 10.2, 1999- 8.8 CA
  7. 2 million fewer children hungry CA
  8. single mother familys have fallen CA
  9. coupled familys have increased CA
  10. Productive marriages lessen child poverty and increase children's well being CA

Welfare Statistics (2004-Present)

"Numbers in the news." Policy & Practice 65.2 (June 2007): 39(1). Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. FREDERICK COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY. 13 Nov. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>.

  1. 9.5 million children in families that received TANF (1994) DH
  2. 3.9 million children in families that received TANF (2004) DH
  3. TANF has helped significantly since 1994. DH
  4. Among children in families with incomes below the poverty threshold there is 29.8% receiving TANF (2004) DH
  5. A fully refundable child tax credit would cost $13.6 billion in 2003 dollars. DH
  6. More than half of that total--$7.1 billion--would reduce poverty by 3.3 million people, including 2.1 million children DH
  7. In 2001 19% (one in five) babies were born in the US with parents not married DH
  8. 20% of children live with at least one foreign parent. DH
  9. 4 out of 5 of these children are American citizens DH
  10. Between 1960 and 2006, spending on children declined from 20.1 percent to 15.4 percent of federal domestic spending DH
  11. Spending on the automatically growing, non-child portions of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid grew from 22.1 percent in 1960 to 45.9 percent in 2006. DH
  12. It nearly quadrupled from 2 percent to 7.6 percent of gross domestic product over the same period DH


"Welfare ." World of Health. Online ed. Detroit: Gale Group, 2007. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. FREDERICK COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY. 13 Nov. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do? &contentSet=GSRC &type=retrieve &tabID=T001 &prodId=SRC-1 &docId=EJ2191200664 &source=gale &srcprod=SRCG &userGroupName=fred14595 &version=1.0>.

  1. Defined as financial aid and other benefits provided by a government to people who are unemployed, below a particular income level, or have other similar needs. DH
  2. About 37 million Americans have incomes that fall below the poverty line (2004) DH
  3. More than one in five American children are poor DH
  4. 12.7% of poverty in 2004 DH
  5. Average monthly income for a household of three on welfare was $499, compared with the federal poverty level of $1,043 (1998) DH
  6. Recent government statistics show that over one-third of welfare families stay on welfare for one year or less. DH
  7. Originally the majority of welfare recipients were white DH
  8. Now less than 36 percent of this group is on welfare DH
  9. Women represent 46 percent of the U.S. labor force DH
  10. Welfare system was originally planned to let mothers stay at home. DH

Poverty Rates & Causes of Poverty

Allard, Scott W. "Poverty." World Book Advanced. 2008. [Place of access.] 14 Nov. 2008 http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar442680.
  1. These are poverty lines in the year 2006 (Annual Income)
  2. Family size=1 $10,294 DH
  3. Family size=2 $13,167 DH
  4. Family size=3 $16,079 DH
  5. Family size=4 $20,614 DH
  6. Family size=5 $24,382 DH
  7. Family size=6 $27,560 DH
  8. Family size=7 $31,205 DH
  9. Family size=8 $34,774 DH
  10. Family size=9+ $41,499 DH
  11. These are the amount of families that are in poverty (2006)
  12. Family size=1- 9,977,000 DH
  13. Family size=2- 2,832,000 DH
  14. Family size=3- 1,845,000 DH
  15. Family size=4- 1,489,000 DH
  16. Family size=5- 813,000 DH
  17. Family size=6- 415,000 DH
  18. Family size=7- 157,000 DH
  19. Family size=8- 66,000 DH
  20. Family size=9+- 51,000 DH
  21. The availability of jobs affects poverty DH
  22. Steady, well paying jobs are hard to find DH
  23. When the economy is bad companies are forced to "lay-off" workers, increasing poverty rates DH
  24. Improvement in technology also allows machines to take places of workers. DH
  25. Inflation (increase of prices) DH
  26. People whose incomes fail to keep pace with price increases can afford less and less DH
  27. failing educational system can have a powerful effect on a community’s poverty rate. DH
  28. Single parent families (especially females) usually have lower incomes. DH
  29. Employee discrimination based on race or ethincity can affect pay. DH
  30. Employers usually pay female workers less than males. DH

Poverty & Solutions

"Primer: Poverty and Welfare." New York Times Company 1996. 1. Public Agenda. Primer From. 11/13/08 <http://www.nytimes.com/specials/issues/ihome/poverty.html>.
1. Poor receive fifth rate education CA
2. Stuck in unskilled jobs CA
3. Don’t receive living paying wages CA
4. W/o these, families won’t be able to get out of poverty CA
Steps to be taken:
5. Provide childcare, health care, housing, preschool and financial assistance CA
6. Equalize education- everyone has same education CA
7. Expand Job training programs- needy will be able to have higher paying jobs CA
8. Raise minimum wage- lift families out of poverty CA
9. Education/job training- best prevention, least expensive (long run) CA
10. Economic systems create our poverty (government must take responsibility for poverty) CA
11. Antipoverty must be whole hearted to fix CA
12. 1 in 4 children: poverty and bad future CA

Milstead, Carl S.. Welfare that works. 2003. 11/14/08 <http://www.holisticpolitics.org/WelfareThatWorks/Conclusions.php>.

Solutions:
1. reduce incentives, from proving poverty CA
2. return power and responsibility to people CA
3. increase capital- wages will increase CA
4. decrease red tape- more small business CA


Success Stories (Examples)

Shatz, Stuart. Success Stories. US Department of Housing and Urban Development. November 13, 2008 <http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/wtw/ppp/success.cfm>.
  1. Jamal H. is a 28 year old man head of a household of seven. DH
  2. He was given assistance through a housing program. DH
  3. He was able to rent a apartment from housing vouchers. DH
  4. Before the assistance he and his wife were struggling to pay for bills. DH
  5. Because he didn’t have enough money he didn’t have a consistent way of getting to work. DH
  6. Jamal also lacked money so he couldn’t enter a training program that would help him in the workplace. DH
  7. Since entering the program his financial status has improved greatly DH
  8. Now he has a certification in Web Development. DH
  9. Now he also maintans a full time employment. DH
  10. As of December 2000 his family is only enrolled in Medicaid for their children. DH
  11. They are no longer needing any other support. DH
  12. Are able to pay for all the bills DH

Welfare law: an overview. 4/27/2000 Cornell University Law School. 11/14/2008 <http://www.law.cornell.edu/lii.html>.
Welfare Law
  1. welfare benefits for individuals and families with no or low income had been almost non-existent prior to the Great Depression of the 1930s TZ
  2. millions of people unemployed- federal government saw income security as a national problem TZ
  3. two major social insurance programs- social security and unemployment compensation TZ
  4. federally administered program for the elderly, blind, and disabled- supplemental security income (SSI) TZ
  5. then became Aid to Families with Dependent Children(AFDC) TZ
  6. benefit programs funded by federal government- Medicaid and Food Stamps TZ
  7. if not eligible them may qualify for purely state or state and local relief- general assistance TZ
  8. law governing entitlement and benefits of these welfare programs is complex TZ
  9. federal law applies to federal benefits TZ
  10. federal and state programs must comply with constitutional standards with eligibility rules and procedures for applying them TZ


Quick Timeline

A Child Welfare Timeline. October 23, 2008 National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. 11/14/08 <http://www.nccpr.org/index_files/Page324.html>.
  1. 1961: Foster care population increases CA
  2. Late 1970’s: Congress concerned with large numbers of foster kids. Some are taken out.CA
  3. 1980: Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 CA
  4. Late 1980’s: More and more were place. Then, again children are taken out of there homes again. CA
  5. 1992: Family Preservation and Support Act. Bush vetoes it, Clinton then signs CA
  6. 1996: Welfare Reform Law DH
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http://www.tompaine.com/print/poverty_tour.php